The movement of fluid from a body of fluid to another point for collection is a routine need and can be performed in a number of ways. When tubing or piping is used for carrying the fluid during the movement either gravity or a pump is needed to either create and/or sustain the suction needed to move the fluid from one point to another.
At times the movement of fluid from the body of fluid must be performed in a gentle, slow and steady manner. This gentle, slow and steady manner is also known as peristalsis. Peristaltic pumping may be performed in a number of ways including, but not exclusively, by hand pump or with the use of a peristaltic pump.
In medical care, thoracentesis and paracentesis is typically performed by hand pumping, to achieve the peristaltic movement of excess fluid in a patient's body into drainage bags for disposal or syringes for laboratory analysis or any other medical use. Hand pumping is time consuming and requires a person to be in attendance at all times. Further, the attendant must manually perform the hand pumping necessary to sustain the peristaltic movement. It is difficult to generate consistent suction forces using hand pumping. Depending upon the amount of excess fluid, hand pumping may take several hours of manual labor.
Additional known methods for thoracentesis and paracentesis include glass vacuum suction bottles and wall/portable suction. These methods typically produce a constant suction rather than a peristaltic suction. Glass vacuum bottles often break in shipping causing inadequate suction; are bulky and fragile causing storage, operational and shipping difficulties; typically are limited in size necessitating frequent changes during the procedure; require special medical waste handling procedures; and when shattered in use create the danger of shattered glass and the contamination problem of body fluids. Wall suction, in addition to providing only constant suction, is not readily available in all clinical settings. Wall units are expensive to retrofit in existing facilities. Portable units may cost thousands of dollars. Both wall and portable units typically have small capacities requiring frequent changes during the course of a procedure. Wall units tend to create greater suction forces than is safe for thoracentesis and paracentesis.